After an injury-shortened season, DeAndre Calderon is back in Germany and ready to measure himself against stronger opposition. The two-time Saint Lucia Junior Sportsman of the Year and one of the Caribbean’s top-ranked players has signed with TSV Gräfelfing, a step up from TSV Neuried, where he played last year.
Calderon, 20, is returning for his third stint in Germany, this time with a sharper focus and higher expectations. His previous campaign ended prematurely due to injury, but not before he notched a win over Jamaica’s top player at the Commonwealth Games.
With the next edition of the Games set for 2026, Calderon and the Saint Lucia Table Tennis Association are hoping to build toward their best showing yet.
One of the persistent challenges facing Saint Lucian table tennis is the lack of exposure to ranked opponents. By joining a tougher division with Gräfelfing, the Castries Comprehensive School alumnus will have more chances to sharpen his game.
He’s also back training at TopSpin Sport Performance TischTennis Academy GbR in Bad Aibling, a professional centre where he’s competed in the TT Cup and once ranked as high as 62nd. Last season, he won 21 of 29 matches. Three years ago, he posted a 13-3 record with DJK Altdorf eV in the Bayerischer TTV Men’s Association Upper League South.
More recently, Calderon reached the Round of 16 in men’s singles at the Caribbean Regional Table Tennis Championships in Barbados. He defeated opponents from Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and Barbados before falling to Cuba’s Jorge Campos, the eventual runner-up, whose only loss was in the final.
The reigning OECS men’s champion has also tested himself against world-ranked players from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, and received specialised training from Chinese coaches via Venezuela. He returns to Germany better equipped than ever to compete at the top level.
Now back in Munich, Calderon is eyeing the Tischtennis Bundesliga, a league that, like its footballing counterpart, draws world-ranked talent from Latin America, Asia and the Middle East.
Last weekend, he split his singles matches in Gräfelfing’s 5-5 draw with Tischtennisclub Börde Magdeburg e.V., edging Elias Kühne 3-1 and narrowly losing to veteran Jens Köhler. Against USV Jena, Calderon again went 1-1 in singles and won his doubles fixture, helping his club salvage three points in a 7-3 defeat.
It’s early days, but Calderon is off to a solid start in his renewed push to stake his claim among the game’s elite.
